Doolittle Raid - B25 Flap Settings?
I have just seen a TV programme about the carrier-based raid in which there were several references to 'full flap' being used for take off. The first time I heard it I thought it might be a slip of the tongue, but it was repeated - and eventualy I saw a clip of a B25 staggering into the air from the deck of 'HORNET' with what looked like about 60 degrees of flap.
So I guess 'full flap' was indeed used. But why? Simplistic view suggests best L/D ratio, important to help the guys get airborne in a reported 400 feet (!), is usually available at rather less than full flap deflection. Was a lower flap deflection available on the B25? These people were neither suicidal nor stupid, so there must have been a good reason for the choice. What trials, if any, were done during the work-up to establish the best configuration? Is there anyone still around who can even answer that question?
It's one thing to have a nice QFI-ish argument about what flap to use for best takeoff performance. It's quite another to drag an overloaded B25 off a pitching flight deck for a one way mission. Glad I didn't have to do it (and glad we had guys who were willing to). Mind you, I have dragged a Victor K1 off the ground at Gan with a full fuel load at temperatures in the 30s . . . . .